Dallas

Dallas centers on the loves and hates of two strong and powerful families, the Ewings and the Barnes.

The Ewing clan, headed by Jock Ewing (Jim Davis) and his wife Miss Ellie (Barabara Bel Geddes) own and run the lucrative family business, Ewing Oil. Back in the 1930’s, Jock supposedly cheated his former partner, Digger Barnes, (David Wayne and Keenan Wynn) out of his share of their company before adding insult to injury by marrying Digger’s only love, Ellie Southworth. The seeds of a feud that would last a lifetime had been sown. Miss Ellie’s family were ranchers, and following the marriage Southworth Ranch was known as Southfork and became home to the entire Ewing family. There, Jock and Miss Ellie raised three sons: J.R. (Larry Hagman), Gary (David Ackroyd and Ted Shackleford) and Bobby (Patrick Duffy).

J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) – J.R. is heir apparent to Ewing Oil and unhappily married to former Miss Texas Sue Ellen Shepard Ewing (Linda Gray) – a fact that doesn’t stop him finding companionship with other women. He lives to run Ewing Oil and to impress his father, Jock, whom he admires more than anyone else in the world. While he loves Southfork and its heritage, J.R. considers his true birth right to be Ewing Oil and, unlike his brothers, has no interest in working on the ranch. He loves his family but isn’t often on good terms with them. His relationship with his younger brother, Bobby, is particularly difficult, marred by J.R.’s jealousy; despite all J.R.’s tricks and schemes, it’s Bobby who is Jock’s favorite son. J.R is conniving, unscrupulous, and willing to do anything to get what he wants.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) – Bobby is the youngest of the three Ewing brothers and by far the most moral and charming. He falls in love with Pamela Barnes, daughter of Digger and sister of Cliff Barnes, which to the rest of the Ewings amounts to treachery. The only one to even give Pamela a chance is his mother, Miss Ellie. Bobby has always loved the ranch, but ends up working at Ewing Oil. Handsome and sweet, he is irresistible to women, but is also intelligent and honest, which makes other people trust him, making him a prime candidate for the business. He loves both of his brothers but much like everyone else, does not trust J.R., although he does tend to give him more benefit of the doubt than most. Bobby is unselfish and always tries to do the right thing.

Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray) – Sue Ellen is the long-suffering wife of J. R. Ewing. A former Miss Texas she is beautiful, perfectly behaved and the very model of a society wife. Although she loves her husband, she is unable to deal with his constant stream of mistresses and her exclusion from his life. She turns to drink as an escape from her miserable marriage, but in spite of her struggles with alcohol and depression still manages to be a good mother to her and J.R.’s only child, John Ross Ewing III, and over time learns how to stand up for herself.

Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal) – Pamela is Bobby’s wife and Cliff’s sister. She is also the daughter of Digger Barnes, Jock’s one-time partner. A modern day Romeo and Juliet, Pamela and Bobby refuse to let their families’ feud come between them, but from the moment Pamela arrives at Southfork she is cast as an outsider, particularly by Jock and J.R. She is beautiful, caring and wants very much to have a family with Bobby. As time passes, most of the family come to accept her – but the animosity between Pamela and J.R. never fades.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Jock Ewing (Jim Davis) – Jock is the head of both Ewing Oil and the Ewing family. Married to Miss Ellie, they have three sons. Though he loves running Ewing Oil, he is ready for retirement and to let J.R., whom he has groomed for this position since he was born, take over. He also enjoys working the ranch now, and does so with Ray Krebbs, whom he has recently discovered is his fourth and illegitimate son, the product of a war-time affair. Having not at first known that Ray carried Ewing blood in his veins he is glad; his feelings for Ray were already that of a father. Jock is a good, strong man who tries to be a decent father and husband, and is an excellent businessman. He loves all of his sons, but has a difficult relationship with Gary, his second son by Miss Ellie, whom he feels he is weak.

Ellie Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes and Donna Reed) – Miss Ellie, as she is called by everyone but her children, is the wife of Jock Ewing and later, Clayton Farlow. Southfork was her childhood home and her family almost lost it until she married Jock and he saved it for them. She is a strong and loving wife and mother. She forgives Jock for his indiscretion during the war, and eventually learns to care for Ray, the son he fathered as a result of that affair, as much as she does her own sons. Her favorite, however, is her middle son, Gary, and Jock’s and J.R.’s treatment of him over the years is something she can never quite forgive.

Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) – Cliff is the son of Digger Barnes and the brother of Pamela, Bobby’s wife. Throughout the series, he is J.R.’s arch-enemy. Cliff’s hatred of the Ewing family stems from the tales that he has heard his father tell over the years. When he finds out that his sister has married a Ewing, he is furious; but although he despises most of that family, he does come to respect Bobby. Cliff has an affair with J.R.’s wife, Sue Ellen, and when she becomes pregnant he is certain that he is the father of the child. He later demands a paternity test, only to discover that J.R. is the father after all. He then directs all his energies to taking down the Ewings and taking over Ewing Oil.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford and David Ackroyd) – Gary is the middle son of Jock and Ellie Ewing. The favorite of his mother but not his father, Gary is the black sheep of the family with a tendency to drink or run away when things became too hard to handle; a tendency his father continuously holds against him. When Gary is seventeen, he marries a girl named Valene (Joan Van Ark) and they return home to Southfork to live. After only nine months of marriage, they have a daughter named Lucy. J.R. bullies his brother and eventually Gary flees, leaving his wife and daughter behind. J.R. forces Valene out of Dallas and when she tries to keep her daughter, he threatens her, taking the baby from her and warning her never to return. Years later, Gary returns home and through his daughter finds Valene again. They both realize they cannot be happy in Texas, so after they re-marry Miss Ellie buys them a house in California.

Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly) – Ray is the illegitimate son of Jock Ewing, a fact of which he is unaware when he first arrives at Southfork. Despite the tensions caused by the discovery of his paternity, he is grateful and happy (although the fact that he had briefly dated the Ewing niece, Lucy, is something he wishes he could forget). A simple man with a good heart, he is the ranch foreman of Southfork, and eventually marries a woman named Donna Culver.

Lucy Ewing (Charlene Tilton) – Lucy is the daughter of Gary and Valene, raised without either of her parents, she is spoiled and always out for a good time. When she finds her mother she hopes for a close relationship with her, but when Valene and Gary re-marry they move to California, leaving Lucy depressed. Over time, she builds a career and eventually meets and marries Mitch Cooper.

Clayton Farlow (Howard Keel) – Clayton is the second husband of Ellie Ewing, a kind man who was raised much like she was and who loves ranching but excels at the oil business too. His family owned the Southern Cross Ranch, and when he and his first wife Amy adopted his nephew Steven (later nicknamed Dusty) they brought him there to live with them. His sister, Jessica, who was Dusty’s natural mother and had serious mental issues and a violent tendency, set Clayton’s house on fire with his wife in it, leaving Clayton to raise Dusty alone. Years later, Sue Ellen meets Dusty at a rodeo and begins an affair with him, leading to a chain of events which sees Clayton eventually marrying Ellie Ewing.

Donna Culver (Susan Howard) – Donna is the wife of Ray Krebbs. They met and had an affair while she was still the wife of politician Sam Culver, and despite being in love with Ray she returned to her husband because he was dying. Sometime later, after a brief romance with Cliff Barnes, she and Ray finally marry and live on the outskirts of Southfork in a house that Ray builds. She later becomes the mother of his only child, Margaret, as well as a politician.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Jenna Wade (Priscilla Presley, Morgan Fairchild and Francine Tacker) – Jenna was Bobby’s teenage girlfriend, as well as the mother of his son, Lucas. Lucas is Bobby’s only biological child; however, Jenna later marries Ray Krebbs.

Jack Ewing (Dack Rambo) – Jack is the son of Jock’s brother, Jason, and appears briefly in Dallas. He also has a sister named Jamie Ewing (Jenilee Harrison).

April Stevens (Sheree J. Wilson) – April is Jack Ewing’s ex-wife, and for a time, something of a schemer. She later changes and falls in love with Bobby Ewing.

Carter McKay (George Kennedy) – Carter becomes the head of WestStar, the rival oil company to Ewing Oil.

Cally Harper (Cathy Podewell) – Cally is J.R.’s second wife, whom he was forced to marry at gunpoint after being trapped in the small Arkansas town where she lived. Naive but not stupid, after J.R. escapes and returns to Dallas, Cally follows him with the hope of making their marriage work.

James Beaumont (Sasha Mitchell) – James is the illegitimate son of J.R. from an affair he had while in Europe with a woman named Vanessa Beaumont. Unaware who his real father was for years, when his mother finally tells him, he shows up in Dallas to confront the man he now knows is his biological father. Unsurprisingly, he gets a little more than he bargained for.

Michelle Stevens (Kimberly Foster) – Michelle is the sister of April Stevens and much more devious than April. She gets involved with several men, and is not known for her warmth or sensitivity.

Stephanie Rogers (Leslie-Anne Down) – Stephanie is new to Dallas and is involved in public relations.

Liz Adams (Barbara Stock) – Liz starts out as the girlfriend of oilman Cliff Barnes and later becomes his fiancée.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Main Cast

Character

Actor

J.R. Ewing

Larry Hagman

Bobby Ewing

Patrick Duffy

Sue Ellen Ewing

Linda Gray

Pamela Barnes Ewing

Victoria Principal

Jock Ewing

Jim Davis

Ellie Ewing

Barbara Bel Geddes and Donna Reed

Cliff Barnes

Ken Kercheval

Gary Ewing

Ted Shackelford and David Ackroyd

Ray Krebbs

Steve Kanaly

Lucy Ewing

Charlene Tilton

Clayton Farlow

Howard Keel

Donna Culver Krebbs

Susan Howard

Jenna Wade

Priscilla Presley, Morgan Fairchild and Francine Tacker

Jack Ewing

Dack Rambo

April Stevens

Sheree J. Wilson

Carter McKay

George Kennedy

Cally Harper

Cathy Podewell

James Beaumont

Sasha Mitchell

Michelle Stevens

Kimberly Foster

Stephanie Rogers

Leslie-Anne Down

Liz Adams

Barbara Stock

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Additional Cast

Character

Actor

Kristin Shepard

Mary Crosby

Dusty Farlow

Jared Martin

Mitch Cooper

Leigh McCloskey

Afton Cooper

Audrey Landers

Rebecca Barnes Wentworth

Priscilla Pointer

Katherine Wentworth

Morgan Brittany

Mark Graison

John Beck

Jeremy Wendell

William Smithers

Mandy Winger

Deborah Shelton

Jamie Ewing Barnes

Jenilee Harrison

Casey Denault

Andrew Stevens

John Ross Ewing III

Omri Katz and Tyler Banks

Christopher Ewing

Joshua Harris and Eric Farlow

Charlie Wade

Shalane McCall and Lauri Lynn Myers

Marilee Stone

Fern Fitzgerald

Jordan Lee

Don Starr

Andy Bradley

Paul Sorensen

Punk Anderson

Morgan Woodward

Vaughn Leland

Dennis Patrick

Harry McSween

James Brown

Harv Smithfield

George O. Petrie

Dave Culver

Tom Fuccello

Connie Brasher

Donna Bullock

Phyllis Wapner

Deborah Tranelli

Louella

Meg Gallagher

Sly Lovegren

Deborah Rennard

Jackie Dugan

Sherill Lynn Rettino

Kendall Chapman

Danone Simpson

Teresa

Roseanna Christiansen

Dora Mae

Pat Colbert

Cassie

Ann C. Lucas

Debbie

Deborah May Taylor

Mickey Trotter

Timothy Patrick Murphy

Peter Richards

Christopher Atkins

Mavis Anderson

Alice Hirson

Angelica Nero

Barbara Carrera

Holly Harwood

Lois Chiles

Jerry Kenderson

Barry Jenner

Nicholas Pearce

Jack Scalia

Debbie

Deborah Marie Taylor

Serena Wald

Stephanie Blackmore

Kimberly Cryder

Leigh Taylor-Young

Rose McKay

Jeri Gaile

Simon Ellby

Jeff Cooper

Eddie Cronin

Fredric Lehne

Bruce Harvey

Jonathan Goldsmith

Alan Beam

Randy Powell

Paul Morgan

Glenn Corbett

Tracy Lawton

Beth Toussaint

Lil Trotter

Kate Reid

Connie

Jeanna Michaels and Nancy Bleier

Oswald Valentine

Derek McGrath

Franklin Horner

Laurence Haddon

Liz Craig

Barbara Babcock

Wes Parmalee

Steve Forrest

Senator Andrew Dowling

Jim McMullan

Scotty Demarest

Stephen Elliott

Don Lockwood

Ian McShane

Dr. Danvers

John Zaremba

Jeff Farraday

Art Hindle

Vanessa Beaumont

Gayle Hunnicutt

Tommy McKay

J. Eddie Peck

Walt Driscoll

Ben Piazza

Leo Wakefield

Bill Morey

Digger Barnes

Keenan Wynn and David Wayne

Patricia Shepard

Martha Scott

Sheriff Washburn

Barry Corbin

Valene Ewing

Joan Van Ark

Willie Joe Garr

John Ashton

Julie Grey

Tina Louise

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Trivia

After Jim Davis, who plays Jock Ewing, died during the fourth season, producers were originally planning to bring the character back. However, fans reacted so strongly against the idea of anyone but Jim playing the role that they decided to kill off the character instead. Later, Steve Forrest played the character of Wes Parmalee who was at one stage thought to be Jock Ewing – but this turned out to be untrue.

Steve Kanaly and his wife, Brent, have been married for almost 40 years and have two children.

Barbara Bel Geddes was diagnosed with breast cancer in the early 1970’s and had a radical mastectomy. She had the courage to relive the experience several years later, when her character, Miss Ellie, did the same. She won an Emmy Award for the performance and was also honored by the First Lady, Betty Ford, for her help in raising breast cancer awareness.

Susan Howard (Donna Culver) did a guest spot on future co-star Larry Hagman’s series I Dream of Jeannie.

Ken Kercheval was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1993 and had to have a portion of his lung removed. He is now free of the disease.

Larry Hagman was a member of the United States Air Force, joining during the Korean War.

Victoria Principal started her own production company after leaving Dallas called Victoria Principal Productions.

Priscilla Presley (Jenna Wade) was married to famous singer Elvis Presley.

Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing) has been married to his wife since 1974, and they have two children.

After the death of Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), a portrait of him was hung over the fireplace at Southfork as a reminder and memorial of him. Later, after the character of Miss Ellie re-married, they moved the portrait to Ewing Oil.

Ted Shackelford (Gary Ewing) has been on four different series with actress Joan Van Ark. They are Dallas,Knots Landing, Wonder Woman and the new Dallas.

Linda Gray did her first nude scene in 2001, at the age of 60, in the London version of the play The Graduate. Her legs had been used for the famous publicity poster for The Graduate movie in 1967, for which she had been paid the princely sum of $25.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Steve Kanaly served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War.

Cathy Podewell (Cally Harper) devotes a portion of every summer to being a volunteer counsellor at the Muscular Dystrophy Association Camp in California.

George Kennedy (Carter McKay) enlisted in the United States Army during World War II and served for sixteen years.

At one point in the series, Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing) started asking the executives of the show if she could direct episodes as both Hagman and Duffy had done. Their answer was to fire her. Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), however, threatened to leave the show if she was fired, saying simply that he didn’t feel it was possible to have J.R. without Sue Ellen.

Ken Kercheval has been married and divorced four times. In 2012, he had a total of seven children and six grandchildren.

Victoria Principal was honored by President Ronald Reagan for her work on behalf of people who were afflicted with arthritis.

Howard Keel was famous for his movie musicals in the 1950’s.

Barbara Bel Geddes was noted by Larry Hagman as being “the rock of Dallas”.

After Patrick Duffy made the decision to leave the show and have his character killed off in 1985, when asked to return to the role of Bobby Ewing, it was Duffy’s wife who came up with the “dream scenario”. She said that Bobby Ewing dying in a dream was the only way in which he could return.

Priscilla Presley co-founded Elvis Presley Enterprises so that her daughter’s inheritance after Elvis’s death would not be lost. She did this by turning Graceland into a tourist attraction. At the time Priscilla took over, the trust for her daughter had dwindled to $1 million; under her management it grew to more than $100 million.

Howard Keel (Clayton Farlow) was originally only supposed to do two cameos on the series, but was such a hit with fans that he was given a regular part.

Jim Davis was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in the fourth season of Dallas. He continued working on the series for as long as he was able. Many of the scenes that he shot toward the end show him seated and he also wore a hair piece to conceal the hair loss that had resulted from chemotherapy. Sadly, he died a short time later in 1981.

Photo Courtesy of Time Magazine/p>

Susan Howard was born in Texas, now lives outside Austin, Texas, and was appointed by then-Governor, George W. Bush, to be a commissioner for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Sadly, Patrick Duffy’s parents were murdered in 1986, when two teenagers robbed their bar in Montana.

Larry Hagman’s mother was legendary actress Mary Martin.

Once, when Victoria Principal was on an airplane, the pilot announced on the loudspeaker that he was not going to land the plane unless she told him “Who Shot J.R.?”

Steve Kanaly is a highly regarded watercolor artist and his work is often shown in galleries where he lives.

The character of Sue Ellen was originally intended as a bit part, but after Linda Gray and Larry Hagman improvised their scenes together and producers saw coverage of them in the daily press, they made it a bigger role.

Barbara Bel Geddes was the author of two children’s books, I Like to Be Me and So Do I.

Howard Keel was President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1958-1959.

Sheree J. Wilson left Dallas because she was pregnant but her final performance – being shot whilst on honeymoon with Bobby Ewing – earned her a Soap Opera Digest Award.

Though it’s impossible to imagine now, Larry Hagman was not the first choice to play the role of J.R. Ewing. Originally, it was offered to Robert Foxworth who turned the part down feeling that the J.R. character needed softening. He later played Chase Gioberti on another Friday night show called Falcon Crest. In another twist, Steve Kanaly, who played Ray Krebbs, was the original choice for Bobby Ewing, and Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes) was supposed to play the part of Ray. Additionally, Linda Evans was going to be Pamela Barnes Ewing, but of course went on to play Krystle Carrington in Dynasty instead.

Until the series finale of M*A*S*H, in 1983, the Dallas episode entitled “Who shot J.R.?” was the highest rated single episode of a television series. It still comes in second to this day.

Patrick Duffy co-starred with Suzanne Somers in the popular series Step by Step.

Victoria Principal posed nude for Playboy in 1973.

Linda Gray was best friends with Larry Hagman until his passing in 2012.

Larry Hagman played astronaut Anthony Nelson, in the popular series I Dream of Jeannie. His co-star on the show, Barbara Eden, also guest-starred on Dallas for five episodes in 1990.

The building used for Southfork Ranch in all but the first season really was a Texas ranch. Coincidentally, it was owned by Joe R. Duncan or J.R. Duncan! However, after the show started to rise in popularity people would come to the house at all times of the day and night, forcing Duncan and his family to sell it. Today, it is a museum dedicated to the series.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Jim Davis used to provide the voiceover for American Beef Council commercials, proclaiming their slogan, “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner”.

Only two cast members stayed on the show for the entire fourteen seasons: Larry Hagman and Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes). Hagman is the only one to appear in every single episode.

As it had not yet been decided who was going to shoot J.R., several cast members were filmed firing the gun. The gun is now on display at the Southfork Ranch museum.

Howard Keel was the original choice to play the lead in the famous movie, Singin’ in the Rain, in 1952. Instead, the role went to Gene Kelly.

The University of Washington named Patrick Duffy #1 in its list of the 100 Alumni of the Century.

Victoria Principal created a line of skin care products called the Principal Secret.

Linda Gray was in People magazine’s annual Most Beautiful Woman list in 2013.

At one point, Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs) was considering leaving the show due to a lack of interesting storylines for his character. It was Larry Hagman who came up with the idea that Ray should be Jock’s illegitimate son, giving him a reason to stay on.

Larry Hagman received a liver transplant in 1995, due to cirrhosis from years of heavy drinking. The operation saved his life and he later became the National Spokesperson for the 1996 U.S. Transplant Games, presented by the National Kidney Foundation. He continued to serve as an advocate of both organ transplants and donations until his death.

The spin-off show of Knots Landing was actually created first, but did not attract much interest. They then created Dallas, and were able to build on its popularity to make Knots Landing into a series.

As of 2000, Patrick Duffy had only been out of work for a total of three weeks out of the 22 years he had spent in show business.

Jim Davis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the television industry.

In 1969 Larry Hagman’s musician friend, David Crosby, gave him some LSD after a concert. It changed Hagman’s life. He said, “LSD was such a profound experience in my life that it changed my pattern of life and my way of thinking and I could not exclude it.” Later, Jack Nicholson made Hagman aware of marijuana as a safer alternative to Hagman’s heavy drinking. Hagman said, “I liked it because it was fun, it made me feel good, and I never had a hangover”.

Ken Kercheval has reprised his role of Cliff Barnes on TNT’s new Dallas series.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

George Kennedy and his wife have four adopted children.

Howard Keel grew up in severe poverty and one of his teachers, Miss Rosa Burke, noticed at one point that he hadn’t eaten any lunch. From then on she packed two lunches, one for her and one for Howard. After he became famous, he would send free tickets to her for any of his performances being staged near her home in Gillespie, Illinois.

Dallas is included in Time magazine’s 2007 list of “100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME”.

Barbara Bel Geddes (Ellie Ewing) left Dallas for the 1984-85 season due to poor health following a severe heart attack and quadruple by-pass heart surgery. Donna Reed took her place for one season before being fired as Dynasty pulled ahead of Dallas in the ratings war. Bel Geddes was also feeling much better and had decided to return. Reed sued the show’s production company for breach of contract and settled out of court for an amount in excess of $1 million.

Victoria Principal is a generous donor to multiple charities, offering them both her time and financial support.

Linda Gray was Lindsay Wagner’s aunt by marriage. Wagner, of course, is best known for playing The Bionic Woman.

When Patrick Duffy did return to Dallas in that now famous shower scene, it was done with great secrecy. Filming was done with a non-Dallas crew who believed that they were shooting a commercial for Irish Spring soap. Victoria Principal, who played his wife on the series, had no idea that he was returning to the show until she saw the cliffhanger episode on T.V. She then rushed to the phone and called Duffy herself to confirm it.

Larry Hagman starred in the series Orleans.

Dallas was originally a five-part mini-series, and was turned into a series in response to its extreme popularity. The original five-part mini-series is now commonly referred to as Season One.

Victoria Principal (Pamela Barnes Ewing) originally intended to study medicine but a serious car crash before the end of her first year of college meant that she had to spend months recovering from her injuries. She would have been forced to repeat the year and, after some serious thought, decided to move to New York instead to pursue her acting career. The man who hit her was convicted of drunk driving.

Unlike his character, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman married his wife, Maj Axelsson in 1954, and stayed married to her until his death in 2012. In 2008 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and Hagman took care of her almost single-handedly until by 2010 she needed 24-hour nursing care. Because of this Hagman sold their 43-acre estate in Ojai, listing it at $11 million dollars.

Charlene Tilton was briefly married to Johnny Lee, singer of the famous song from 1980, Lookin’ for Love.

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Sheree J. Wilson won first place riding cutting horses in the National Multiple Sclerosis Rodeo in 1995.

Steve Kanaly and Susan Howard, who used to play his Dallas wife, Donna Culver, were shown in National Rifle Association advertisements in 1992 to promote responsible firearms ownership.

Patrick Duffy is allergic to penicillin.

Jim Davis was very close to his Dallas co-star Victoria Principal, who resembled his daughter, Tara, who had died in an automobile accident when she was only seventeen. When Davis was buried, both Principal’s and his daughter’s pictures were in his pocket.

Linda Gray had to miss her son’s high school graduation due to her work schedule on Dallas.

Larry Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas.

Howard Keel made his first solo recording at the age of 64, due in part to the revival of his acting career on Dallas. His album, And I Love You So, made it to #6 in the UK Albums Chart in 1984.

Amazingly, Dallas was originally supposed to be a starring vehicle for Victoria Principal, not Larry Hagman, with the character of Pam acting as a buffer between the two feuding families. However, when the producers saw Hagman’s portrayal of the unscrupulous J.R. Ewing he was made the series’ main character.

When Barbara Bel Geddes was cast for the show, she was living in New York. After getting the job, she would fly home every weekend and on breaks in order to be with her family.

Patrick Duffy was actually born on St. Patrick’s Day.

The hugely talented and caring Larry Hagman died of complications related to acute myeloid leukemia on November 23 2012. Only a year before, Hagman had fought against Stage 2 throat cancer and had gone into remission. He died peacefully, surrounded by family and close friends who had flown to Dallas to spend Thanksgiving with him. Two of the people at his side when he died were longtime friends and co-stars Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy. Gray called him her, “best friend for thirty-five” and released this statement: “He was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the fullest.” Duffy’s statement: “Friday I lost one of the greatest friends ever to grace my life. The loneliness is only what is difficult, as Larry’s peace and comfort is always what is important to me, now as when he was here. He was a fighter in the gentlest way, against his obstacles and for his friends. I wear his friendship with honor.”

Photo Courtesy of CBS

Priscilla Presley was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in season six.

Victoria Principal once dated famous singer and teen idol Andy Gibb. She left him after issuing him with an ultimatum to quit drugs.

Ken Kercheval likes to collect classic Packard automobiles and early American glass.

Patrick Duffy was best friends with Larry Hagman, and they remained that way until Hagman’s unfortunate death in 2012.

Susan Howard was only supposed to have a one-time guest spot on Dallas as Donna Culver, but the producers were so impressed with her performance that it turned into an eight year run.